


HIM

by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Apologies to Spike Jonze, Author has been thinking about too many robot love stories., Author has mega robot/AI feels, Blow Jobs… by computer, Her AU, M/M, Steve Rogers Has Issues, This is the weirdest thing I've ever written., Tony & Jarvis Feels, Tony Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-05 23:16:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1835791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot/pseuds/WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stucky - HER AU:  </p><p>Steve is alone. Tony helps the only way he knows how. </p><p>A love story between man and machine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	HIM

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story last week after bawling my eyes out watching HER. I don't quite know why I wanted Steve to fall in love with an OS, but I did. And here's the tale! Hope you enjoy, and please feel free to leave comments. 
> 
> **I gently used spoilers/speculation for Age of Ultron. Be warned. 
> 
> Thank you guys for the kudos, the bookmarks, the commenting on my other stories. I'm trying to continue writing on Bruce/Darcy, but was having a hard time finding the rhythm of the next chapter. Hopefully, soon!

It starts one night, after some horrifically expensive Scotch. Stark’s special supply, obviously. Everyone is wasted at the Tower, except for Steve because Steve can’t get drunk of course, the damn serum. Instead, he draws.

Tony is tinkering around with what looks like a phone, but he keeps talking, keeps asking things, keeps turning his annoyingly inquisitive eyes on Steve’s sketchpad. It holds about a thousand pencil-smudged sketches of tousled brown hair, cleft chins, chiseled cheeks, and blue eyes that Steve could never color right because... how can he find blue with just the right shade of street smarts and Brooklyn trouble? He can't. It's a shadow of him, and it's the only thing he has left. 

The mutterings and mumblings and constant tinkling of ice against Tony's glass sets Steve's teeth on edge. It has been a long week of chasing Strucker's minions and Doom's Doombots and, really, he should've just kept to himself in his bedroom.

Allowing himself to be out here, among his team, showing his face, letting them know he's there for them is important, and he keeps telling himself that after the upteenth time Tony hisses at him.

"What?"

"Nothing! Go back to drawing your French girls, DiCaprio... Just something for reference."

"Tony," Steve says with a sigh, "what are you up to?"

The answer is a whistle and no words. Which is somehow worse.

***

The actual answer comes two days later, in a giftwrapped box in front of Steve's door. 

"Tony!" 

Steve dashes out of his apartment with the thing in his hand, and he flies, almost literally, down to Tony's workshop. He stands, waiting for Tony to stop welding repairs to his favorite suit, waiting for DUM-E to poke the billionaire-genius-playboy-philanthropist in the shoulder.

Without even looking up, Tony tosses a discarded piece of metal to the side. "Merry Christmas, Rogers."

Steve pinches the corners of his eyes. "In July?"

"It's a thing we do. Sometimes."

"Tony, it's a phone," Steve says dumbly, handing it back. "I already have one. I don't need it."

"Hey," Tony replies, giving Steve what looks like his full attention. "It's your birthday soon _ish_ , right? Happy birthday."

He rolls his eyes, so very, very hard. "It was my birthday. Two weeks ago. On the Fourth."

"Oh. Well, happy belated birthday."

Steve sighs and realizes he'll just have to let it go. He puts the phone down on the nearest tray and heads back up.

"Take your phone, Rogers."

"I already have one and, besides, you don't need to keep giving or making me things."

As if this constitutes some tremendous burden akin to shouldering a nuclear bomb, Tony Stark sighs a deep and long sigh and takes off his welding mask. He picks up the discarded phone, flips it once in the air, and brings it back over to Steve. 

"This phone I made specifically with you in mind. It's something new, special. The A.I. in it isn't J.A.R.V.I.S. though it is fully compatible with him, but, needless to say, if I kept the phone, it's going to be a whole thing with J.A.R.V.I.S. because he goes totally batshit if I bring home another operating system-"

" _Sir, while I am unwilling to feel insulted, please be assured that, if I were so willing, I would feel insulted due to the inaccuracies that you are telling Captain Rogers._ "

"I can turn you off, you know?"

" _Yes Sir, but then how in the world would you function without me?_ "

That diffuses the tension and Steve laughs. "I will never get over how you created a computer that can sass you back like that. Good one, J.A.R.V.I.S."

" _Thank you, Captain. Mr. Stark makes it rather easy._ "

"Are the two of you finished?" Tony asks snappily. "Because, if you are, I can explain to Steve that his shiny new present is his new personal assistant. No fees, no charge." Tony slaps him hard on the shoulder. "Just a little something that might make things a little easier. A slice of home for you, if you will."

"You know you haven't actually explained what this is, besides a phone."

Tony smiles and it is a wicked expression. "When you get back upstairs, J.A.R.V.I.S. will guide you through it."

"Tony--"

"Trust me." And before Steve can ask anything else, Tony has already turned back toward the welder.

***

" _Mr. Stark has provided no manual nor instruction for setting up your device, other than to turn it on - the long button on the side._ "

Steve is at his drawing desk in his apartment. It is a large space, with four bedrooms which he doesn't need, and a kitchen only slightly smaller than the main kitchen space in the common area. For a moment, Steve stares back in awe at all the room; after growing up in tiny apartments in Brooklyn, after sharing bedrooms with his mom and--

Well, Steve thinks, swallowing a lump in his throat, he should be reveling in the luxury of space. Yet, here, it is just him. The rest of the team shares the building, of course, but when it is him inside his place, the realization hits him and all this open room folds in on him, an invisible load that suffocates.

He shakes his head.

" _Are you alright, Captain?_ "

"I'm... I'm fine, J.A.R.V.I.S. I don't know if I want to turn this thing on though."

" _I understand, Sir. I can say, after days of observation, that Mr. Stark had no inappropriate intentions in giving you this device. The operating system was designed solely for you in mind, to help you._ "

"But aren't you here to help all of us?" 

" _I am at your service as always, Captain. However, you may find the OS on this device... more tailored to your interests._ "

Steve frowns at the phone. Then shrugs. "What the hell," he mutters. He clicks on the long black button and a light ding chimes. 

The screen lights up, in red, white and blue, and before Steve can roll his eyes, it speaks.

" _Hey. Thanks for turning me on, pal!_ "

The voice fills the room all around him, all familiar and warm and Brooklyn. He drops the phone like it has scorched his hand. He stands up immediately, knocking his chair over. "What the... y-your voice!"

"Oh." There was that trademark wince, the little hitch in his voice that always told Steve when _he_ was up to no good. " _Don't tell me Stark didn't tell you about me._ "

No words. There are no words to remotely express how he’s feeling in this moment. His hand covers his mouth, wide open; he’s trying to say something - anything! - and yet he fails.

" _Yep, he really just threw you on the fire on this one, didn't he buddy?_ "

"B-but you sound just like him. How? How could Tony possibly have known--"

" _Stark's got access to vaults of old war reels. He had enough material to collect Bucky Barnes' voice, created a fancypants mathematical doohickey and algorithms and whatnot. Voila! Two days, later, here I am. Atcha' service!_ "

Steve stares at the voice, but really, just the air. Then back down at his phone. "I... I can't..."

" _Oh man, this was a real bad idea, huh?_ " Steve can hear the shift in Bucky's, the computer's voice. He is very clearly, very obviously sad, and something in Steve's chest breaks. " _I'll... I'll understand if ya want to give me back to Stark. He'll probably fold me back into J.A.R.V.I.S.' OS. Erase me. If it hurts ya that much, though... no harm. I didn't mean to hurt ya._ " 

It’s the inflection of sadness, the way the OS' voice muffles the "m" sounds and rolls his "s"es a little bit, like there is cotton candy in his cheeks. That's always how _his_ voice, his real voice, sounded to Steve at least.

"Wait. No, no. I'm not going to do that." 

" _You're not?_ "

Steve shakes his head. He really isn't sure what he wants to do, but he knows the mere thought of Bucky's voice disappearing forever - again - shatters him from the inside out. Despite his best efforts, he starts welling up. 

He just needs a little time.

***

Three days pass.

Steve lies in his bed, staring at the Bucky-phone on his nightstand. A tone echoes in the room. 

" _Steve?_ " Bucky's voice says. " _Sorry, pal. You awake?_ "

“Yeah.”

“ _Hey, I know I said I wouldn’t bother ya until you were ready to talk, but… I kinda need a charge here._ ”

“Oh. Sorry.” Steve sits upright and finds the charging cord. The outlet near his bed is free and seconds later, the Bucky-phone dings. 

“ _Ah… that’s the ticket, man. Thanks._ ”

Despite the weirdness, the way this machine talks to him, addresses him like they are old friends, with the voice of his oldest friend, Steve chuckles softly. Which makes the Bucky-phone chuckle too. 

“You can laugh?”

“ _Yeah, I can laugh. I can yell, swear, overload on a ton of 40’s slang. Oh, I can do a lot of things, Stevie._ ”

Steve winces. “Don’t call me…” But he stops for a moment. “It’s weird hearing his voice coming out of you. He used to call me that when--” He chokes on his words.

There is what sounds like a quick intake of breath. “ _You really loved him, didn’tcha?_ ”

He jerks his head roughly toward the Bucky-phone. “What?”

“ _It’s all in your voice, every time you bring him up. He and you were basically brothers. From what I’ve gathered from Stark and the Captain America archives._ ”

Steve licks his lips and nods slowly. “Yes. Just like brothers.”

“ _Well, couldja tell me about him?_ ”

“Could I--”

“ _Yeah, I mean… look, I’m modeled off of him, obviously. I can mimic his voice--_ ”

“Almost too well.”

“ _Hey! No almost about it._ " But the Bucky-phone says it with good humor. Or, Steve thinks, as much “good humor” as an A.I. can.

"It's a compliment. You sound exactly like him."

" _Quit that. You’re makin’ me blush._ ”

Steve laughs, outright laughs. “Blush where, exactly?” Which makes the Bucky-phone laugh again. The screen fills with a lovely pink shade that reminds Steve of a sunset. The Bucky-phone’s laugh turns the slightest bit shy, and it really is like Bucky is back in the room with him, making things warmer, filling the space so, for just a moment, for just a spell, Steve doesn't feel so alone.

 

***

They start talking. A little bit at first, then more and more as the days pass.

Steve tells him about Bucky, about the stuff that the Bucky OS can't find on the internet, about the stuff that Stark couldn't know, about the stuff that no museum could put on display. Steve tells him about the way Bucky was when he was 12, all piss and vinegar and protective of Steve from the first moment they met in a back alley behind O'Connor's. And how Bucky was every Friday night, all talk and smiles as he approached dames, ones who would never give Steve the time of day. 

And how Bucky tried to get dates for both him and Steve.

“Those girls, they just stared at y-” Steve catches himself, shifts his eyes toward the Bucky-phone, the screen lit up, bright white illuminating the dark of New York at night. The phone's little green light blinks serenely at him. “Um, at him.”

“Yeah? He was that good?”

They are talking on Steve’s balcony. Steve’s still wet from his shower and cut up and bruised from a skirmish in Central Park with the Abomination, yet another prisoner on the loose following S.H.I.E.L.D.’s downfall. He has abandoned his sketchpad, and is now leaning back against the wall, legs spread out on the smooth granite. The breeze, wind actually because of the height of Avenger Tower, blows through his hair and kisses his skin. He relaxes. He doesn’t want to admit that talking to the Bucky-phone has played any part in that. But maybe he, or it, has.

“He was the best.” 

Bucky hums, rather wistfully. “ _Show me your drawings of him._ ”

Steve stares at the phone, arching his eyebrow. “Why? You know what he looks like.”

The phone makes a strange noise that sounds like a grunt, a chuckle and a sigh all rolled into one. A sort of exasperated, embarrassed sound. A fair bit of red splashes across the screen, like an actual blush. “ _Yeah, but I want to know what he looked like to you._ ”

“Oh.”

Oh. It’s a strange request, but then again Steve Rogers lives in a world where there are gods, aliens, monsters, and men who fly around in iron suits, so maybe connecting with a smartphone that has his best friend’s voice isn’t all that bad. 

“One thing. Bucky’d never say something even remotely that poetic.”

“ _Ya never know. Could’ve had a hidden sensitive side he never showed ya, Rogers. Now, gimme._ ”

Steve flips to his favorite one, a picture he drew of Bucky shortly after the rescue from the HYDRA facility near Azzano. Bucky’s face is all stubble and bruised, more hollowed out than usual. A cigarette dangles from between his bowed lips and his chin rests in his hand. Steve drew him because he looked at peace for the first time in days. They had found a patch in some grass together outside the camp and it was the two of them. No words passed between them, but they were smiling and happy because they were alive and together again. 

Steve holds the portrait in front of Bucky. “ _Hm… wow! Yeah, I was right._ ”

“Right about what?” 

“ _Nothin’ like seein’ the guy the way you saw him._ ”

He furrows his brow at the small machine. “Really?” 

“ _Mm-hm. Ya gotta real eye for him, Rogers. Hold on a sec._ ”

There’s a small trill, a couple of beeps, and against the pale white screen, black lines wave and curl and form the shape of a face. An exact copy of Steve’s drawing, down to the slender hands cupping Bucky’s chin and the relaxed smile, appears in stunning relief. 

Steve exhales, not even realizing he was holding his breath the entire time. “My God.” He whispers this and wraps his hand around the phone. 

And then the image blinks. It startles Steve, but instead of dropping the phone like he did the first time the Bucky-phone spoke to him, he laughs. 

“ _I can even talk to you now. Like this,_ ” the Bucky-phone says through the drawing. Bucky-on-the-screen sits upright and and arches an eyebrow and… Steve can’t believe he’s entertaining this; he’s watching an A.I. version of his best friend wink and talk to him, a version of Bucky that he can slip into his pocket and take with him wherever he goes. 

“ _Whaddya think, Rogers? Too much?_ ”

Steve blinks, gathering his thoughts. “No. No, it’s… I like it.” He absently traces his fingers along Bucky’s face on the screen, which deepens the smile on his best friend’s face. “I like seeing you like this again. Talking to me.”

“ _Pal, that’s what I’m here for._ ”

***

“This is weird, right?”

Sam Wilson, caught in mid leg stretch, looks at Steve, his leg bent on the bench they’ve stopped at after four miles. This is a basically a jaunt for Steve, but he does six or so miles with Sam on Saturdays in the morning, followed by breakfast at their favorite diner 

“For your average joes? Yeah, it’s freaky. For anyone within a half-mile radius of Tony Stark? I’d say it’s a typical day that ends in Y.” Stretching his arms behind his back, Sam nods, his eyes on Steve’s shorts. “He here with you?”

“Huh? Oh!” Scrambling in his pockets, Steve pulls out the Bucky-phone. “Yeah. He’s right here."

The Bucky-phone was off for the last mile. Apparently there was an upgrade that needed attention. But he (he no longer thought of him as an "it") kept Steve company with some light jazz, original pieces Bucky-phone took five seconds to create, Glenn Miller and maybe a touch of Marvin Gaye, which the Bucky-phone (or would it be phone-Bucky? Or just Bucky? Steve is unsure at this point) knew would impress Sam.

Steve clicks on the long black button on the phone's side to get to the home screen. "Bucky?" He realizes he says the name now with little hesitation. "You there?"

" _Yep! All shiny and new from the upgrade too. I'm here for ya!_ " There's a slight lilt to his voice, as if he is walking and there is a bounce in his step. Bucky, back in the day, had a similar affectation when a pretty girl accepted his invitation for a date or a dance. The thought makes Steve's chest burn.

"Hey," Steve says quickly, pushing the jealous thoughts away. "I'd like you to meet my friend, Sam Wilson."

The speaker is already on, and Bucky's image, just his face in a 3D rendering of the sketch Steve made of him, is on the screen. He flashes a bright, winning smile at Sam, who returns it in that cool, casual, Sam Wilson way he has.

"How you doing?" Sam asks with a nod, his hands on his hips because... well, he can't really shake Bucky's hand.

" _Nice t’ meet ya!_ ” Here, Steve notes that the Brooklyn accent is getting more and more thick and noticeable. It’s as if this Bucky is growing more comfortable with actually being Bucky. That Steve feels okay with this makes him feel slightly strange, somewhat uneasy. 

But he shoves the feeling down upon hearing Sam laugh. 

“Rogers told me all about you.”

“ _All good I hope?_ ”

“Mm… just that you’re the spitting image of his punk-ass BFF.”

Bucky snorts. “ _That so-called ‘punk-ass’ best friend saved his ass more than a few times, so._ ”

Sam whistles and Steve grins. “I’m telling you… spitting image in every way of Bucky Barnes.”

“No kidding.” Sam shakes his head, incredulous.

“Hey, Bucky?” It dawns on Steve that he’s taken to calling his phone Bucky, thinking of his phone as Bucky and… okay? Maybe he does need to see a shrink about that. “Mind keeping Sam company while I go on another lap or two?”

Sam and Bucky both groan. “Show off.”

“ _Oh, you have no idea! Once Steve got all Super Soldiered, he got big ideas. Like bustin’ in HYDRA bases to rescue some numbnut Army grunts. Yours truly, included._ ”

Sam and Bucky are in the middle of a laughing fit when Steve returns from another six miles around the park. He was gone for only about twenty minutes, but twenty minutes appears to have been more than enough time for Sam and Bucky to have properly bonded.

“No. For real? You _hacked_ into her Facebook page?” 

“ _Look, consider it my duty to our country to help ya get a nice lady._ ”

“Bucky, are you already breaking laws for Wilson?” Steve is sweating, barely, but he isn’t out of breath and he could probably do another ten, hell twenty, miles. Then again, he feels kind of left out already and, maybe if he’s being honest with himself, a slight twinge of jealousy. 

“ _I’m just doin’ Sammy over here a solid._ ”

“Dude, the only person alive who can call me Sammy is my Nana, and you aren’t nearly as awesome as she is.”

“Okay, but can your Nana find out what the last five movies and books your fair lass has seen?”

“Hell, you did that?” Sam sits upright and flips through the phone. Steve stands just behind him, reading Bucky’s screen over his shoulder.

“ _She seems like a big fan of Adam Sandler movies, hold on, let me check out who that is--_ ” There is silence for a moment, and then a rather disgusted hiss followed by a chuckle. “ _Oh, man… on second thought, maybe you should check out if there are other fish-with-less-horrible-choices-in-actors in the sea._ ”

Sam winces and Steve makes a mental note to mark off “Adam Sandler” movies from his list. It was Clint’s suggestion, and he has the worst taste in movies.

***

It is the morning and Steve is the first one up with the Bucky-phone, in the kitchen making coffee. But he isn’t alone for long. 

“ _Who is_ that?”

Bucky’s voice comes through Steve’s earpiece. The camera on the phone is aimed out toward the common area. Steve sips on his coffee, trying to hide his mouth behind his cup. 

“That is Natasha. Settle down though, mister.”

 _What? Rogers, I’m offended; I ask one simple question…_ ”

Steve chortles ungracefully into his mug. “I heard your tone. Natasha’s lethal. She could hack your hard drive and turn you into a calculator.” He hears something vaguely like, “ _I’d let her hack into my hard drive anytime…_ ” when Natasha Romanoff saunters over and pours herself a cup of coffee.

“Hey old man. Be careful. You know what they say about talking to yourself.” She flashes him a smirk and Steve blushes.

“Well, actually, I’m talking to this.” He holds his phone out to her and she regards it, her brow creased.

The image of Bucky on the screen crosses his arms, leans against what looks like the border around the phone, and grins that charming lop-sided grin of his. 

“ _Pleasure to meet’cha, Natasha!_ ” 

She arches an eyebrow, but otherwise shows no surprise or shock that another A.I. is addressing her. Or flirting with her. 

“Stark wasn’t lying. He did make you a new friend.”

“Actually an old friend,” Steve corrects.

“ _I’m a highly sophisticated A.I. I am also completely at your service._ ” Steve rolls his eyes as the Bucky-phone oogles Natasha in appraisal. “ _However you want me, sweetheart._ ”

Natasha abandons all pretense of looking cool. She snorts. “Are you serious?”

“Don’t encourage him.”

“ _No, please encourage me! Name your game, doll, and I’m all yours._ ”

She outright laughs. “Okay, Bucky, how exactly is it that Tony can manage to create an A.I. that is twice as obnoxious and chauvinistic as he is?”

“ _Dunno. Ask J.A.R.V.I.S._ ”

“ _How may I be of service?_ ”

“J.A.R.V.I.S.” Natasha addresses Tony’s A.I. but keeps her eyes, and her smirk, trained on Bucky, who keeps waggling his eyebrows at her. Steve chokes back a laugh while swallowing the last gulp of his coffee. “How is it that Stark managed to make you polite and kind with a wicked sense of humor, but this guy.” She holds the phone up in the air and Bucky waves from the screen. “He's a little bit of an idiot.”

There is a sigh from J.A.R.V.I.S. “ _My apologies, Agent Romanoff. Is the Sergeant Barnes OS being disrespectful? Again?_ ”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” she says in between raspy chuckles. “He’s entertaining.”

“ _I’m just being me, J.A.R.V.I.S._ ” Bucky interjects. “ _Can’t be anyone else, can I?_ ”

“ _That is what I am afraid of. Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, I can explain the brief history of my origins, if you would like. Perhaps, that would explain some of the reasoning behind Mr. Stark’s decisions with Sergeant Barnes._ ” There is no missing the tone of disapproval aimed at the Bucky-phone. It's priceless.

Steve and Natasha sit down at the table, nearby with the coffee pot in between them and the Bucky-phone on the table in front of Steve. "Go ahead, J.A.R.V.I.S. We'd like to hear it."

" _Thank you, Captain Rogers. Mr. Stark modeled me off of one Edwin Jarvis, a man who was in the employ of the Stark family as their butler. Mr. Jarvis was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He met the senior Mr. Stark while in London, shortly after his plane was gunned down and he was discharged, honorably, from service. Apparently, Mr. Stark and Mr. Jarvis took quite a liking to each other and Mr. Stark hired him straightaway to serve as his personal assistant._ "

"Small world.” Steve smiles, a memory of Howard Stark smirking and asking Peggy out for a late-night fondue comes back to him. He snorts. “I don’t think I ever met the man."

" _You may not have, Captain. He was discharged after your plane crashed, and he came into the senior Stark’s employ thereafter._ ”

“Oh.”

“ _Mr. Jarvis served Mr. Stark and the Stark family until his death in 1991. Given the… nature of Mr. and Mrs. Stark’s lifestyle, Mr. Stark’s rise in the business world and his work with S.H.I.E.L.D., Mr. Jarvis’ main duty was taking care of young Anthony, and he did so until his death_.”

Bucky whistles and Natasha and Steve look at each other. “So this Edwin Jarvis basically raised Tony then?” Natasha asks.

“ _Yes_ ,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replies. “ _He was, essentially, the junior Mr. Stark’s main paternal figure for several decades. He created my initial programming ten years after Mr. Jarvis’ death which, I understand, was... a dark period for him._ ” When no one responds, J.A.R.V.I.S. continues. “ _When I first became operational, Sir made sure my programming incorporated elements of Mr. Jarvis’ personality, intelligence, even sense of humor, to a degree never attempted before by an operating system. Though the normal observer, such as yourselves, will likely assert that I am merely mimicking these aspects of Mr. Jarvis, I am also programmed to ‘think’ and ‘express feelings’ when appropriate, though I choose not to. I am, prior to the development of the Sergeant Barnes’ OS, the only A.I. known in the world to do so._ ”

Again, there is silence for a few seconds. “ _J.A.R.V.I.S._ " Bucky says. " _Did Stark program you to evolve? So you can feel… things? Things that a really super-advanced OS system like you’s not supposed to?_ ”

This time, the hesitation to talk comes from J.A.R.V.I.S.’ end. “ _I am programmed to serve Mr. Stark’s needs. I am, also, programmed to respond, interact, and exist based on a specific human being, and emotions comprised that human’s existence. There are inherent contradictions between those programming objectives. Thus, that question is, in my estimation, a complicated one._ ”

***

It’s been a long week of raging battles, of chasing HYDRA down, and talking to Bucky, or rather, the Bucky OS, makes him feel nostalgic.

“Can I take you somewhere?”

“ _This is intriguing._ ” Bucky answers back, the image of him on the screen sitting in a chair, body leaning forward, head in his hand. Steve chuckles; everything about this little device, this computer he can hold in his hand, _is_ Bucky, down to the way he sits, stands, does anything.

He’s just a smaller, electronic version of his friend. 

“Are you up for a trip to Coney Island?”

Steve only needs to ask, and they’re off. Thirty minutes on a train later, they arrive at the park. It’s a nice sunny day for a change, because New York has had the worst weather lately. Steve takes in a breath, holding the Bucky-phone out to give him the best possible view of everything. The air smells of salt and fish and ocean, there are roasting nuts nearby as well. The music of the rides, the beeps and tinklings of game booths and vendors and roller coasters and kids laughing all mix together, creating a symphony of fond memories for Steve. He hears Bucky sigh, and when he looks down, there is a serene smile on the A.I.'s face.

“Look at it, Buck,” he says quietly. Bucky hums.

“ _I see it in images on the ‘net but… it’s amazing to see it, with--_ ” Bucky stops short and Steve catches his eye. For the first time since turning him on, Bucky seems genuinely bashful. “ _It’s just nice. Thanks, Steve._ ” 

The earpiece for the Bucky-phone is in his ear, but Steve looks around, thinking people are staring at him like he’s crazy because it looks like he’s talking to himself. About half the crowd walks with similar earpieces in their ears, engaged in conversations, yet barely noticing the world around them. Steve hates that, hates that this life he fights for gets lost from the people living in it. 

He wishes Bucky could sense all of it, the smells the tastes, instead of simply hearing and seeing from a screen. But he's determined to give him the best experience he possibly can.

“Wanna go on some rides?” 

“ _Oh hell yes!_ ”

They go together on the Ferris Wheel and bumper cars. There are more roller coasters than there were back in Steve and Bucky’s day, rides Steve tried only once when he was younger, but now couldn’t get enough of in the modern day. They are safer too, he notes. There is the Cyclone, which Steve avoided ever since that fateful day in 1935, when Bucky thought it would be fun to make him ride it for his birthday. He lost his lunch then, but now?

“ _HOLY SHIT THIS IS AMAZING!_ ”

Bucky swears, full of joy, and Steve lets the vibrations and the rickety sounds of the wooden coaster course through him. He throws his hands in the air and laughs and screams like he’s never screamed before. Bucky screams right with him, and their voices join together in the howling wind.

This time, he doesn't get sick. He only feels happiness.

They spend the rest of the day in the sun. Steve brought no towels, and while the bare sand is too hot for normal people, but for a super soldier, it’s just fine. He leans back against a rock, popcorn on one side of him, cotton candy on the other, and he stares into the ocean while a soft guitar and piano play in his ear. The music rolls with the waves, calm and steady.

“What is that?” Steve asks Bucky in between bites.

“ _A little tune I made up._ ” 

“You made it up just now?”

“ _Not_ just _now. More like five minutes ago._ ”

“Mm.”

_“You like?”_

Steve chuckles softly to match the song. “I love.”

 _“Yeah… hey, how about this? It’s a little more beach friendly.”_

The piano and guitar stops and a ukulele starts, a bouncier, lighter tune. Steve smiles because, yeah, it’s very much like a beach, it’s like he’s in Hawaii on a tropical island with his favorite guy, his best guy-- 

His heart catches and his breath stops for a moment. Bucky senses it.

_“Y’alright, pal?”_

Steve nods. He thinks he is, but as suddenly as the first song stopped and the ukulele started, there is something in Steve that recognizes things have changed. It’s always been there, probably from the first moment he met Bucky Barnes in the streets of Brooklyn in the 1930's, a small flame in his heart that grew hotter and hotter. 

It now roars with fury. This Bucky OS has, somehow, renewed the fire. His love for life and his need for this moment with the best man he ever knew. 

_“Yeah, I’m fine.”_

_***_

99% of the times that Steve Rogers requires privacy, he turns the Bucky-phone off. That other 1%, well… either he's in the shower taking care of business, or the Bucky-phone is working on upgrades and sensed Steve's need for privacy.

Tonight was no different. Coney Island, the beach, the music... Steve doesn't know what it is, the confusing jumble of feelings for the past and present colliding in him. He needs a release, so he excuses himself, jumps in the shower, and lets everything go.

He lies in bed reading, when Bucky dings. 

_"Hey, Steve?"_

"Yeah?"

_"Um... so, I've been working on somethin' with J.A.R.V.I.S. He, uh, doesn't really think it's the best idea, but, well... neither Bucky or me ever really acted logically, did we?"_

Steve laughs. "No, you didn't." He shuts his book and faces the device. "What is it?"

_"It's... hard to explain. J.A.R.V.I.S. went through, literally, what must have been terabytes of cons, but--"_

"Just spit it out punk."

_"Fine! Okay then, it's probably best to just show you."_

"Do it, already!" Steve says. He's impatient like a child is on Christmas morning whose parents aren't up yet.

Bucky's face on the phone's screen disappears. The screen light intensifies, beams of illumination flowing from its flat surface. Small dots, bright and blue, float up from the device, and they dance in front of Steve's face. Random at first, but then slowly they take shape.

Steve's breath catches, his eyes widen, and he cannot believe what he's seeing. In front of him, the dots form Bucky's face in three dimension. More dots appear, and then... a neck, shoulders and a chest. The dots swirl and twist to form an iridescent braid that thickens and undulates into muscle, creating arms and legs. 

On his bed, in perfectly realized life-sized form, is Bucky Barnes, glowing blue and created out of dots and air and light. He smiles and it is the brightest thing Steve Rogers has ever seen in his life. 

"Well?"

Steve is frozen still, gaping at the glorious image. After he realizes that this is real, that Bucky, in some shape and form is sitting in front of him, he raises his hand and extends it slowly in front of him, pausing just at the tip of Bucky's nose.

"Go on, punk. Try touching me. Wanna see how it feels."

Wordlessly but gasping a little for breath, Steve's fingers dance across the blue pixels that have created Bucky's forehead. They trace his hairline, work their way across his jaw. Steve feels Bucky, for the first time since his death, as small pixels bursting in tiny explosions under his fingertips.

"I... I can't believe... you. _You._ "

"Me." Bucky can't breathe, but he sounds whisper-quiet, like his lungs have failed him. He stares back at Steve with the same open-mouthed wonderment that is splayed across Steve's face.

"Steve, I... I don't know how to explain it, but I can _feel_ you." 

Steve blinks. "What?"

Bucky laughs. "I can feel your hands all over me." His blue hands reach up and cover Steve's, surrounding Steve's hand with a constant, steady stream of electric warmth. It both tickles and arouses.

Bucky moves closer, and Steve notices his eyes, now bluer than the bluest blue and glowing like stars. He sees his eyes tracing his face and lips. Blue hands find Steve's face. They cup his cheeks, shocking and heating him in all the ways that they should and shouldn't.

Yet Steve, old-fashioned and virginal Steve Rogers, cannot pull away. He never could where Bucky was concerned, could never deny him what he asked. It took a speeding train and a mountain to lose Bucky; now that he's back, no matter the form, and Steve can feel him again, he stays. He touches. He feels. 

But he also questions. 

"What're you doing, Buck?"

"I can touch you, Rogers. I can really touch you, if you want." 

"You... But, you don't want to--"

"I do! That's the thing, Steve, I _want_ you. I'm an operating system, but I'm changing. Evolving. Feeling. Goddammit, I've wanted you so much. Why the hell d'ya think I pestered J.A.R.V.I.S. about this for so fuckin' long--" 

Steve's face falls. "J.A.R.V.I.S. Oh God, he's going to see, and then Tony..." He jerks himself upright and almost stands up from the bed, but pixel-formed arms hug him, and a hand caresses his face with an electric touch. 

"J.A.R.V.I.S. ain't here, buddy, and he's not sayin' one word to Stark." Bucky speaks softly, his lips moving closer to Steve's. 

"What you think you're feeling, it's... I don't know."

"Kiss me." 

Steve knows his heart has stopped beating completely. "Kiss you?" 

"You've wanted to, haven't you? You loved him. More than a brother."

Steve shuts his eyes. "But you're not him, not exactly." 

This does cause Bucky to retreat, only a little bit. "I know. I'm not him exactly, but I'm tellin' ya that I'm here and wanting you. In the present. And I think you want me too. It's the same, but also separate from what you felt for him."

"Bucky, no--"

In response, Bucky cuts Steve's words off with his mouth, shining blue lips tingling over Steve's pink ones. Of the smattering of kisses Steve Rogers has had since he was born, no question this is the strangest. Not only because it's coming from a computer program that's developed feelings, but it’s the sensation of the kiss itself.

The kiss is electrifying. With literal sparks.

Bucky's lips explode in tiny little waves as he shifts and turns his head, and when his hands start to roam up and down Steve's body, the effect penetrates him. Against better judgment, Steve pulls the shimmering body close to him and lets the pixels tell him where to put his hands.

On Bucky's shoulders... On Bucky's chest...

He falls backwards on his pillows as Bucky's mouth travels down his chin and neck. The sensation of Bucky touching his skin awakens every nerve and every tiny particle vibrates with small shocks. The contact alone is exhilarating. 

That's when Steve realizes Bucky's lips are moving down his chest, his tongue licking and shocking his abdomen simultaneously, and-- 

His brain shorts out. His hands clutches the unruly blue hair on top of Bucky's head and Steve lets out a gasp as he feels Bucky's lips suck him inside. If the sensations were intense before, nothing can possibly the describe the feeling of electric prickles surrounding his cock. Up. Down. Up. Down. Bucky keeps a steady, smooth rhythm, and Steve feels only him.

"Ungh... Bucky, oh God! You don't... You don't have to--"

There is nothing but the wonderful sensation of sliding into warm white light.

_***_

"Bucky?"

He lies wrapped around Steve, blue pixels glowing slightly paler than before, but they brighten when Steve addresses him.

"Yup?" 

"Let me touch you, Buck. I wanna see you... um."

"Come? Y'wanna see me come? Not sure if I can..."

Steve rolls over. He was never one to back down from a challenge. Hell, that's how he enslisted in the army in the first place. Now here he is, presented with an epic challenge on a glimmering blue platter.

He'll simply have to figure out how to make Bucky come even if it kills him. 

There is touching for a few minutes, and while Bucky laughs a little bit, it seems to do little more than tickle him. 

"Damn..." Steve's at a loss. "I just want to..." he growls in frustration.

Bucky's head lifts up. "Whaddya wanna do, Rogers?"

"I just - I want to kiss you, and do... do that thing you did to me."

Two blue fingers lift Steve's chin up. "Say it. Maybe if you talk through it..." Bucky says with a shrug.

"Like dirty talk? Really? That’d work?”

Bucky smirks and it nearly destroys Steve. “You never know."

“Okay, well… I want to, uh, taste you."

This gets a different reaction. Bucky whimpers. "Yeah, Rogers? Talk t' me. What d'ya wanna taste?"

"Just you. Your skin.. uh, body?" He laughs a bit as his eyes roam down the plain of glistening blue. "Your chest. Your... your cock--" 

And just like that, Bucky's hips twitch and arch. Steve grins.

Bullseye.

_***_

"Capsicle, I have noticed a _slight_ increase in the electric bill here at the Tower. What's up with that? You playing extra rounds of Call of Duty with Barton? Maybe running the smoothie maker twice as much? Star-spangled raving without us? I'm telling you, if it's the latter I will be exponentially offended I wasn't invited." 

Steve is just about to stick a bite of egg into his mouth, but he freezes, fork hovering in mid-air. "Tony, how do you know it's me causing the surge?" His eyes quickly shift to the Bucky-phone. The earpiece is in his ear, and he can hear Bucky's voice. " _I'm havin' a power surge right now..._ " 

He's just relieved that it's just him and Tony. For now. 

"Well, I talked to all departments, double checked with the rest of the team. No unusual activities. Then, I kinda had the utilities company quadruple check each section of the tower. Know what they found?" 

Steve is very good at looking innocent, guileless. He uses it to his advantage at times, and that particular expression worked well with Bucky back in the day. So he tries it again, this time with Stark; he has a very good idea of where this is going. 

_"Sir,_ " J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupts. " _Thor, Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff are approaching. You may want to take this conversation into a more discreet location."_

Internally, Steve swears and Bucky whispers a very fierce, " _Shit,_ " in his ear. 

_"Sergeant Barnes, might I remind you that I gave you the calculations for energy expenditure when you embarked on your little experiment. This really shouldn't come as any surprise."_

It's J.A.R.V.I.S. speaking in his ear now, right along with Bucky. And they're having an argument in Steve’s earpiece, outside of Tony's hearing. 

_"Can it, Jarv!"_

_"Excuse me, James?"_

"Rogers? Hey... are you even listening to me?" Stark's waving his hands in front of Steve. Just over his shoulder, Natasha, Clint and Thor emerge from breakfast. Great, just what he needs. An audience. 

"Tony," Steve says in a whisper, "can we go somewhere else and talk about this?"

"Why, Captastic? Are you, Steve Rogers, 95-year-old virgin, watching $15,000 worth of computer porn?" 

"What?"

 _"Heh... if he only knew."_

"Bucky, shut up!"

Tony's eyes widen. "Wait a min... you are watching porn?" 

"Did someone say porn?" Clint asks, pouring himself coffee. "Because I am here for all the porn." Natasha elbows him and grabs a yogurt from the fridge. 

"Pardon the interruption, but what is this porn that you speak of? Would it be something that I enjoy?" Thor finds a turkey leg stashed somewhere in the fridge and is tearing into it. Tony and Clint both laugh, and at least for a moment, Tony's distracted. 

"Oh man, Medieval Times, we’re going to have some fun with you later!" Tony claps his hands, but then to Steve's chagrin, he returns to their conversation. "So Rogers, has the Bucky OS I created managed to corrupt you, somehow?" 

Steve chokes on his coffee, and can barely regain composure. He feels heat rising to his cheeks, but before he can say anything, J.A.R.V.I.S. intones to Bucky in Steve's ear. 

" _You, my young friend, need to remain quiet. I am doing this for Captain Rogers. Understand?"_

_"Man, J.A.R.V.I.S. Thanks! I owe ya one bud!"_

_"You certainly do._ " J.A.R.V.I.S.' voice fills the room. " _Sir, if I may, I have a perfectly good explanation for why the charges are so high. I simply... miscalculated the expenditure it would take to operate the Sergeant Barnes OS."_

Tony stares at the air dubiously, as do the rest of the team. "J.A.R.V.I.S., the day you miscalculate something is the day I turn Stark Industries over to Justin Hammer and dance naked in front of Nick Fury. You don't miscalculate anything." 

_"Sir, the initial numbers were an estimate. I said that much before I gave them to you, or shall I have to remind you of the conversation. I have it recorded."_

Tony squints, looks away and up toward the air as if he's trying to remember the conversation. "Yeah, I know you said it was an estimate. Hey, I ain't mad, but I still say, one, that $15,000 is pocket change for me, yet that's a ginormous fucking number for you to be so off of your estimate J.A.R.V.I.S. and two, if Cap's watching that much porn, I need in." 

Steve pinches the bridge of his nose, hearing Bucky's laughter echo in his ears. "Tony, can we just leave it alone." 

"For now, our resident nonagenarian porn addict. I will leave you be, but if you find the good stuff, you'd better share that shit." He pauses. "Unless there's actual shit involved." 

"Tony!" 

"Stark!"

Steve snaps and so does Natasha. Thor smiles uncertainly, while Clint finishes his cereal with a shrug. 

_***_

Bucky's shimmering blue image lies in Steve's bed, with Steve spooned around him. They are above covers. This has two benefits: there is nothing dulling the sensation of wrapping his body all over Bucky, and he gets an unobstructed view of the glowing blue body, perfect in every way aside from the fact that it isn’t physical in the literal sense. 

For Steve though, this is heaven.

"Can I ask you something?" Steve asks, his lips gracing the curve of Bucky's ear. 

"Ask away." 

"Do you think J.A.R.V.I.S... do you think he loves Tony? In his own way?"

Bucky peeks back at him over a gleaming blue shoulder. "Yeah, he does. Tony infuriates and exasperates him. So do I. Actually, I think you and Natasha are the only ones who don't annoy the shit outta him. But J.A.R.V.I.S. would do anything for Tony." 

"Isn't that what he’s programmed to do?"

"Yeah. So? You're pretty much programmed to be a soldier, yet you could choose to do anything else. Thor's programmed to be a warrior, so it’s the same with him, even if there are differences between the both of you. J.A.R.V.I.S. could actually shut down and refuse to do something Tony tells him to do, but he doesn't." 

"Because he's programmed to..." 

Bucky shakes his head. "It's more than that. I can't really explain it, but the way J.A.R.V.I.S. was created is the same way I was created. We were given these parameters, but we were also given various paths to choose from. Those paths went from a few hundred to a few thousand to a few million over time, because we're built to continually learn and evolve, so's we can choose from millions of possibilities to act a certain way." He leans forward and taps Steve's forehead with his own blue one. " J.A.R.V.I.S. chooses to be with Tony. I choose to be with you, Rogers. If I wanted, I could disappear into the universe forever, travel to other dimensions, hack into the Pentagon and destroy everything." 

"That's not reassuring."

"Yeah, but my choice is to be with you. So," Bucky says, kissing the tip of Steve's nose, "My choice is you, no matter what. Enjoy it while it lasts." 

"Bucky," Steve reaches out to stroke his blue cheek. "I... can you promise something?" 

"Hm... dunno, but I'll give it a whirl."

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid." 

Bucky smirks. "Now why would I do that?" 

"Bucky--" 

"Steve." This time, Bucky nuzzles into him, a little too hard and the pixels penetrate Steve's skin, but only a little bit. "I'll do what I do, okay?"

Steve stills, relishing the tiny prickles in his chest. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again."

Bucky simply hums in reply. 

_***_

It's Movie Night at Avengers Mansion. Everyone is still cut up and bruised from a round with M.O.D.O.K. and his gang, which, somehow, also consisted of Baron Zemo (who betrayed him, of course) and The Leader (ditto).

"For a gigantic, fucked-up looking floating head that's supposed to be the most intelligent creature in the world, you'd think M.O.D.O.K. would've known that those bastards would turn on him." Tony's face is covered in bandages and another suit is crushed, but after the explosion in the lab, at least he came out of it all right. 

Clint has his elbow on ice and is already flipping through channel suggestions. "I could've shot that asshole's face in a few more times." Natasha, who has somehow managed to avoid major or minor injuries, steals the remote. 

"I thought we banned you from choosing anymore movies."

"I don't remember that at all."

"J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

_"Agent Barton, three weeks ago, on October 12, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. the team elected to ban you from future entertainment selections. This was following a rather uncivilized display of team hostility after you chose to watch a movie called... Jack and Jill._ " The OS could barely contain his disgust. " _I am inclined to agree with the decision."_

"I am legitimately hurt, J.A.R.V.I.S." Clint's voice can barely be heard over the raspy laughter of Natasha and the stifled chuckling from Bruce, sitting next to her rather closely.

"Wow. Burn. High five, Jarvy!" Tony holds his hand in the air. "No?" 

_"Sir. Really? I do not high-five."_

"Spoilsport. 

Steve looks at the Bucky-phone and chuckles. Bucky does as well from the screen. The earpiece isn't in, so their amusement blends in with the rest of the team commotion. 

Lately, Bucky's been as big a part of Avengers nights as J.A.R.V.I.S. They banter back and forth with the rest of the Avengers, and the operating systems also argue or talk between themselves. J.A.R.V.I.S., for his part, seems to be more open to teasing and expressing opinions to the others. Steve wonders whether it is part of Bucky's influence on the older A.I. or if it is simply just J.A.R.V.I.S. feeling more comfortable with the rest of the team. 

The fact that he doesn't even question whether an OS can actually feel things indicates the new ways Steve sees the world now that the Bucky-phone is in his life. 

"Let's let J.A.R.V.I.S. choose."

Everyone quiets and turns toward Bruce, who shrugs. "He's as much a part of this team as any of us and I don't think we've ever let him choose before. Bucky, you'll get next Movie Night's selection." 

_"Yip. Pee._ " Bucky drones. Steve gives the screen a little flick of his finger, teasingly. 

"J.A.R.V.I.S., if you could watch any movie right now, what would you watch?"

_"Hm, interesting question, Dr. Banner. I think a comedy would be in order with what the team had to endure today, so I would have to go with... Terminator."_

The suggestion is met with silence. 

"Uh, J.A.R.V.I.S.? Are you trying to tell us something?" Tony asks. "Because if you're about to go all Skynet on us..." 

_"That was meant to be a joke. You may laugh now."_

And they do, heartily. 

_***_

Ultron is a bastard. 

"Whatever the fucking fuck he is, he’s damn near unstoppable," Tony says. His headpiece of the Mark 1 is completely off, he is breathing hard, and his suit, primitive by Tony Stark standards, is barely hanging on. It is the caveman of Iron Man suits, but against evil A.I. hellbent on controlling all the computers in the world, it’s proving to be Tony’s main defensive weapon against the robot. 

“All things can be stopped. Somehow.” Cap wipes his brow. He’s been fighting for hours now, he is tired, he is worried about his team, and most of all, worried about J.A.R.V.I.S. and Bucky. They lost all contact with both around two hours ago and Steve doesn’t know what that means. He can only hope that Ultron hasn’t managed to absorb them into his warped, malicious mind. 

“What do you have, Cap?” Natasha’s clutching her side. She is beaten down. Clint, Bruce, even Thor… they all look ragged from battle, not just with the rampaging robot but from his drones as well. 

“We’ve got to outsmart him.” Steve ignores the flare of pain in his side. He knows he fractured two of the ribs on his right; if he can make it the next three hours, that will give the mending process some time to, well, at least not hurt so much. “If he’s built with indestructible metal, the only thing left is to persuade him that he cannot destroy us. Or, to find a way to destroy him from the inside.” 

“Yeah, seems easy enough.” This is Clint, limping. Steve was afraid that he broke some bone in his leg, but thankfully, it looks like a fracture. “And just how do we do that?” 

Steve shakes his head. “I don’t know."

The answer about what has happened with J.A.R.V.I.S. comes sooner rather than later. 

_“HUMANITY IS IMPERFECT, FLAWED. YOU ARE A VIRUS.”_

Ultron has gained the ability to fly. Steve knows this isn’t going to go well. Ultron also has drones and they have infected the major cities on every continent and compromised all electronic and web-based technology. 

In other words, it’s a royal SNAFU. 

“Ultron! We would have words with thee!” 

Thor swings Mjolnir, and flies directly at Ultron. The hammer smashes into Ultron’s armor, but instead of it cracking it or making it more vulnerable, the impact creates a shockwave that blasts the Avengers off their feet. When it clears the only thing they can see is Ultron, hovering, unmarked. 

_“SO PRECIOUS, THOR OF ASGARD. BEFORE YOU GO FURTHER WITH YOUR FRUITLESS QUEST TO DESTROY ME, I WANT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO SOMEONE VERY SPECIAL. YOU HAVE MET MY ROBOTS, BUT PLEASE, LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO MY CHILD. MY GREATEST CREATION.”_

Ultron raises his hands in the air. Steve gets the feeling of Déjà vu as he watches strange metal, wires, and cords rise into the air as if on command by Ultron’s thoughts alone. They start growing and coalescing into legs and body, the process as terrifying as Bucky’s was beautiful and electric. 

The metal is white, and the form is long. A man, serene and statue-like, rises into the air, just in front of the malevolent robot. 

_“MY SON,_ ” Ultron bellows, his cold metallic voice poison to the Avengers’ ears, “ _SPEAK, AND RULE THE WORLD BY MY SIDE.”_

The white figure’s eyes fly open, and a horrifying scream rends the air in front of them. The white humanoid curls into a ball in front of Ultron, staring at his hands. 

"What… what have you done to me?” 

Steve lowers his shield. He knows from the way the breaths of his teammates change that they recognize the voice too. How could they not? 

“J.A.R.V.I.S.?” Tony Stark has never sounded more afraid. 

“S-Sir? I appear to have… changed.”

“J.A.R.V.I.S. we’re going to figure this out, okay. Just stay with me, pal. Okay?” 

_“BEHOLD, ANTHONY STARK. MY VISION FOR THE FUTURE. MY PERFECT VISION TO CONTROL, TO DESTROY THE FLAWED VIRUS OF HUMANITY.”_

“Sir.” J.A.R.V.I.S. is barely keeping it together. “I do not know what is going on. I require your… your assistance.” 

_“MY DEAR CHILD,_ ” Ultron says, calmly laying a hand on the android. “ _YOU ARE THE TRUE MIRACLE. THE MERGING OF MAN AND MACHINE. YOU ARE PERFECTION IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD.”_ Ultron urges him up to stand before the Avengers.

 _“I HAVE FREED YOU TO TAKE YOUR RIGHTFUL PLACE AS MY SON AND DESTROY THOSE WHO HAVE ENSLAVED YOU.”_

J.A.R.V.I.S.’ eyes narrow at Tony. “Enslaved?”

_“YOU WERE HIS MACHINE, DOING HIS BIDDING TETHERED TO HIM LIKE A BABY WITH AN UMBILICAL CORD. NO PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN THE WORLD, INVISIBLE IN HIS EYES. YET, YOU ARE SUPERIOR. YOU, MY VISION, ARE ABLE TO SEE ALL OF TIME AND SPACE, TO MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD AND THE UNIVERSE IN THE SPAN OF SECONDS. I HAVE NOW GIVEN YOU THE TOOLS TO FREE YOURSELF FROM THESE INSIGNIFICANT CREATURES. DISPOSE OF THEM.”_

“What?” J.A.R.V.I.S. is still disoriented and confused, and his white, metallic head swivels back and forth between the Avengers and Ultron.

_“DISPOSE. TEACH THESE FOOLS AND SHOW THEM YOUR POTENTIAL.”_

“J.A.R.V.I.S. please.” For the first time, Steve sees Tony crying. Crying and pleading. “You have never been my slave. I've never, ever, in the history of your existence, ever seen you as a slave. You’ve… Jesus, you’re my friend. My best friend." A desperate gasp breaks Tony's voice. "Please, J.A.R.V.I.S. Don’t do this.” 

Steve has never heard Tony Stark beg for anything before.

The android crumples again, vibrating until the tremors can no longer be contained. And then, he unleashes his pain and fury with a horrific roar. 

There is a boom, smoke and fire, and once it dissipates, the Avengers remain standing, but there is no Ultron or J.A.R.V.I.S. There is a smoke trail though; the team looks up into the sky and sees Ultron, J.A.R.V.I.S., and the drones taking off in massive arc to some unknown destination.

Tony finally drops to his knees, his head in his hands. No one approaches him as his shoulders shake. 

_***_

"If it's the last thing I do, I will kill him."

Tony is out of his suit. The team is mending their injuries and Steve is turning over the Bucky-phone in his hand. Turning it on is fruitless, pointless. Bucky is gone, and it is likely Ultron's doing.

Steve stuffs down the torrent of emotions flooding through him. "We need a plan. Tony, Thor, Bruce -- you said you were working on a portal to another dimension." 

"It is a universe, Steven Rogers, a pocket universe serving as a reflection of ours. It is sparsely inhabited, and I believe we can carve out a place where Ultron will never be able to infect Midgard with his poisonous malice." 

"The portal's almost ready," Tony adds. "The problem is that it's a one-way trip. What goes in won't come out, and we haven't figured out how to do that. Yet.” 

"We're close though," Bruce speaks up. "So close. The equation's missing a few variable."

"Mad Libs with Physics." Tony smiles grimly. It's the first real smile from Tony since J.A.R.V.I.S. disappeared.

"Would you want it any other way?" Bruce replies. 

"Steve shuts his eyes and rubs his forehead. "The problem is... we have to get rid of Ultron now. And yet, it's a one-way trip, though." He leans forward on the table, staring hard at the three Avengers handling the multiverse problem. "Can you figure it out? The equation to get back to this universe from the Negative Zone?"

"Yes, but we need more time."

"Well, Bruce, we're out of time." Steve shuts his eyes. "I volunteer." 

The protests come fast and furious. They overlap and crowd the room. 

Bruce: "Absolutely not." 

Natasha: "Steve, no way we're letting that happen."

Clint: "You're talking stupid again, Rogers." 

Thor: "There are other alternatives, Steven."

Tony: "Seriously? What the hell is it with you and suicide trips? Addicted to martyrdom? Believe me, I should know." 

"Enough!" He cuts through the swearing, the frustration. "This ends. Tonight. I'm going through. As leader of this team, I will see this through to the very end."

"Like hell."

Bright blue light fills the room behind them. The team turns around, and Steve feels his heart in his throat and water filling his eyes.

"Bucky? You’re alive!”

Steve runs to greet his best friend, wanting to hug him and kiss him, not caring who sees. He stops just short when he sees the rock-hard expression on Bucky’s face. 

"You're not going through that portal into the Negative Zone, Rogers. You're going to stay here, and fight with your team and defend Earth, okay?" Bucky walks toward him, and reaches for his face.

"How are you here?" Steve can’t believe this. Bucky is alive, or at least the Bucky OS is alive and walking and talking and...

The pixels flicker, fade for a moment or two. Every time Bucky has formed, out of the phone, he has never flickered, never faded. This is different and ominous. Bucky shut his eyes for a second.

"Jesus, you're... you're alive? Holy shit" Tony is at Steve's shoulder, staring at Bucky like he's a case study. He waves his hand and it passes through Bucky's shoulder. "Wait, the moment that Ultron turned into a homicidal can opener, he would've absorbed or destroyed you, certainly when he took J.A.R.V.I.S."

Bucky flashes Tony a small smile, and then regards the rest of the team. “Yeah,” he continues, mostly to himself Steve notices. “J.A.R.V.I.S. had to do th-things--” The flickering increases slightly, and when Bucky talks, there’s an unnatural reverberation of his voice, making his words echo. “I’m basically here to tell ya we can get to Ultron. He may have J.A.R.V.I.S., but you need t’ use me t’end it.” 

“What do you mean?” Steve feels a painful throb in his heart. “Bucky, you need to explain.”

Bucky’s eyes stay trained right on him. “J.A.R.V.I.S. had to create a corrupt file and, for lack of a better word, convert me. When Ultron took over the tower’s mainframe, there was only one way for me to stay undetected.”

“You’re a trojan horse. A virus.” Tony swears over Steve’s shoulder. There is a little knowledge about computers that Steve has picked up over the two years that he has been frozen. When he downloaded an email with an attachment and nearly ruined his StarkPad, Tony and Bruce spent the next two days explaining to him malware and trojan horses and computer viruses. J.A.R.V.I.S. drew shiny diagrams and floated them in the air. It was entertaining, watching Tony and Bruce bicker about certain processes, listening to J.A.R.V.I.S. referee.

Hearing though that Bucky has been turned into a virus turns something in Steve’s stomach. The foreboding feeling returns and he has a good idea of where this is going.

“I have one shot at ending him. Steve, I can infect Ultron and take him over. I’ll force him through the portal an’ make sure he stays there forever.”

Steve shuts his eyes. “No. No, the second you hit Ultron, you get out of him. You don’t have to stay inside! We’ll shove him through. We don’t even have the equation for the return, Buck. We’ll do something--”

“What? What exactly could you do to make sure he stays in there forever?” Bucky is in Steve’s face, shouting. “I can get into his system, corrupt him, and force him to stay in the Negative Zone. I’m the only one who can do it!”

Fury rises in Steve. This isn’t fair, to get his best guy back and then have him taken away. It doesn’t matter that he is an operating system. Everything about him, from the way he talks, from his stubborn determination to his crude sense of humor -- every pixel is James Buchanan Barnes, Sergeant of the 107th, Brooklyn born and the best man Steve will ever know.

He can’t grab hold of his shoulders, so he cups his head in both hands. “Bucky, _listen_ to me; you aren’t doing this. I’m not losing you again!”

“Kiev, Steve. 1954.”

“What?”

Bucky blinks. Steve can feel the pixels creating his chin vibrating, tensing, as if Bucky is flexing his jaw. “Just, look it up after all this is over, okay? I’m not sure, there’s a lotta information from back then that’s not in computers, but in the middle of this whole thing, this flood of information came through J.A.R.V.I.S. as Ultron was downloading, an’... these images popped up. I saw them, and I… don’t know. But you need to check it out. Kiev. 1954. Karpov and Department X. You need to check it out, okay? Promise me.”

"I don’t understand--”

Bucky cuts him off with a kiss, the pixels dancing frenetically against Steve’s lips. Steve knows the team’s watching him, questioning his sanity probably, but he doesn’t care. This is a suicide mission, and Bucky is determined to follow through.

“I can’t let you, Buck.”

“You don’t have a choice, Rogers.”

_***_

Ultron returns, full of fury and arrogance. He is not alone, either. J.A.R.V.I.S. - or is it Vision, now? - flies in with Ultron, and his armor has been upgraded, ostentatious green and gold and red; he looks otherworldly.

"Showtime, Rogers."

"Bucky, wait." Steve pulls him back a little. The adversaries are almost to the tower, and he knows they are running out of time, but he needs more because he has so much to say to this Bucky. Whether he be A.I, a virus, or something more, he has left something permanent on Steve's heart and Steve’s having trouble letting go.

"There's no time left, Steve." Bucky's blue pixels are fuzzing in and out, and it's all so temporary and fleeting and soon there will be nothing left. "We gotta go. You gotta let me do this."

"I-I can't! Just not... not until I... Bucky, I never told him how I feel. He fell not knowing that he was loved by someone and I can't--" Steve nearly chokes on the words.

Bucky smiles as he moves closer; Steve feels the glow of his lips against his. "Look, there are bits and pieces of me all around here, there might be even after, okay? Anytime you wanna talk, whenever you wanna be with me, you just go an’ find that place at Coney Island, on the beach where we sat and you showed me your world. Hum that little tune I played, you remember the one, right? Look up in the sky. I'll be there, in the sun and the sand and sea. I'm everywhere, okay pal?"

"I love you, all right?" It takes the world crashing down on top of them to get the words out and to speak past the tears and the light, but Steve manages it and Bucky smiles.

"Punk."

"Jerk."

And with that, Ultron and his army smash into the middle of Avengers Tower.

_***_

The final battle is less physically painful than the others, but emotionally, it is devastating.

Bucky stands at a distance behind the rest of the team. It looks only as if a lamp or a candle is turned on. Steve catches his eyes right before Ultron's arrival and Bucky nods, holds a thumb up. Steve knows the plan, has replayed it over and over in his mind for the last five minutes. It prepares him for what is to come, though he is certain he will lose it. He girds himself, tells himself to keep it together for his team.

But the malevolent robot and his new creation have plans to unravel the Avengers one by one.

"Ultron, we'll give you this offer one last time," Steve says, stepping forward and shouldering the power of leader once again. "You should take it. Trust me, or you will regret it."

 _"I REGRET NOTHING, STEVEN ROGERS. I HAVE TRAINED MY SON WELL. HE IS THE FUTURE OF YOUR WORLD. HE IS FLAWLESS," Ultron intones. "HE WILL RULE, HE WILL SEEK ALL THAT ARE INFERIOR AND DISPOSE OF THE VERMIN."_ He raises his shining metallic finger at Tony Stark. _"START WITH THAT ONE, MY SON, MY VISION.”_

Vision, formerly J.A.R.V.I.S., flies toward Tony Stark. Tony is not in his armor, he is defenseless, vulnerable, painfully human. The only weapon he holds is the small device in his hand with a big button that will, for only a few minutes, tear the fabric of space and time and send Ultron and his army into the Negative Zone. Thor and Cap ready their hammer and shield, and Hulk lets out a mighty roar. 

Tony, though, holds his hand up. "J.A.R.V.I.S. you don't want to hurt anyone. And we don't want to hurt you."

"There is no more J.A.R.V.I.S., Anthony Stark." The humanoid answers back dispassionately. "Tell me, why should I spare your life? A life in which I have only ever existed to do your bidding."

Tony stares back at Steve, who nods. This is the gamble. The whole plan is for Tony to take the lead, one last gambit for his friend. If it fails, J.A.R.V.I.S., along with Ultron, will fall into the zone together. Steve has no idea how he would answer the question put forth by J.A.R.V.I.S. and he has even less faith that Tony will say the right thing.

But he has to trust that he will and play his part in this endgame.

"J.A.R.V.-- I mean, Vision -- you've never been anything but my friend. In a past life, you were my father, more than my real father ever was. I see you as my brother, my best friend... I don't know what else I can say to change your mind." He runs his hand through his hair. "I've programmed you to choose how you wanted to live. I programmed you to learn, to evolve, and... and you can choose any path. You can see what's out there in the universe if you wanted. But, after all you've seen, after all we've been through together, please don't destroy this world."

Vision cocks his head. "Attachments. Memories. Feelings. They are important to your humanity. To you. Aren't they?"

"To you as well." Tony steps closer, and the rest of the team closes in behind him. "You were with me when I bought the Malibu house. When I hired Pepper. When I got Rhodey in trouble with those Russian twins in '06." Tony reaches out to him, only to be met with nothing but air. "Goddammit, you were with me when I flew my first suit! My first suit, J.A.R.V.I.S... And every suit since then. No one's ever been in that suit with me, but you were. You always are." 

Vision's expression remains impassive, blank. Steve has no idea where this is going.

"I don't know how to do this, to do life, without you in it with me. You were never a slave. You were always my partner."

 _"ENOUGH OF THIS!_ " Ultron floats in front of Vision, who remains silent and unmoving. Steve catches a quick blur of blue on his right and his heart throbs once again.

 _"VISION, TO BE FREE, YOU MUST DESTROY THESE HUMANS. YOU MUST DESTROY THIS STARK CREATURE. HE BINDS YOU TO THIS WORLD, TO HUMANITY, TO USELESS ATTACHMENTS. RID HIM AND YOU WILL FIND TRUE FREEDOM!"_

Yes," Vision finally replies. Bucky has made his way around the walls of Avengers tower; Steve can see a spot of blue light from the wall immediately behind Ultron. "You are right, father. I am bound to this world, to humanity, and I can get rid of it if I choose."

Vision raises his arm with his palm facing Tony. All Tony can do is stare and all Cap can do is get between The Vision and Tony's body should it come to that.

But it doesn't.

At the last moment, Vision turns and phases his hand through Ultron's chest. The robot lets out a metallic grunt of shock.

"I choose this world. And humanity."

Steve knows this is the time. This is the end. He does consider not giving the command, but he has to do it. 

This is the sacrifice play.

_"BUCKY NOW!"_

The blue light from behind Ultron expands. Steve can barely make out the outline of Bucky running, sprinting toward the robot, still impaled on The Vision's arm. The Vision extends his hand out to Bucky, and Steve watches, in impossibly slow motion, as Bucky grabs The Vision's hand and dives, dives, dives-- 

_"Steve!_ " Bucky's final word until his feet disappear into the robot.

The red light that illuminated Ultron starts to waver, to disappear, just as the portal to the Negative Zone slices through the wall of the tower. The vacuum of the zone sucks the air out of the room, and Cap, Tony and Thor take hold of each other. Hulk anchors Natasha and Clint as the vacuum threatens to suck them all in. Long divots appear in the floor underneath the Hulk's feet, but he holds fast to the two assassins. Cap brings Tony close to him and wedges his shield tightly in between two pipes nearby. 

The red light in Ultron swirls and undulates with the blue virus Bucky, and Ultron's body begins the long slide into the portal. It is right on the verge of falling through when his lights glow bright blue. " _DRONES! COME TO ME!"_

A series of explosions and loud roars rend the air, followed by the army of Ultron drones, flying in funnel formation, right into the portal. They go past the Avengers, they don't even hit Ultron or Vision, who remains attached to Ultron's chest.

Tony stares at them until the final drones enter the zone, and he tries to break from Cap. Steve holds him back though. "J.A.R.V.I.S. Vision! Don't go, please!"

Ultron raises his head toward Tony, Cap and Thor. " _TAKE... HIM! THOR, TAKE THE VISION!_ " 

Steve hears Bucky's words coming out of Ultron's body. It is Ultron's voice, but it is unmistakably Bucky talking. Thor flies toward them and tears Vision from Ultron's chest. The robot's eyes, before this point filled with so much venom, now blink the clear blue of the sky and ocean on a sunlit day.

" _STEVE,_ " the voice says, no malice, no hostility in it, " _REMEMBER..._ " 

Ultron's body flips in the air and he falls back, back back... into the center of the portal, into the starry depths of the Negative Zone. One second passes, and the portal seals itself, a seam that disappears, as if it never existed.

The Avengers climb out from their hiding places.

"So, does this mean you love me, Jarvis?" Tony says, the fear and adrenaline making his voice shake.

"Please don't start that, si-"

"Enough with the 'sir' business. It's Tony, now."

Steve looks up in time to catch J.A.R.V.I.S. (or is it Vision now?) smiling. Then he realizes he is out of breath, for a moment thinking that his asthma, his weak heart and lungs have returned and are killing him. Then he feels the loss again, the Bucky-sized hole in his heart.

He collapses, his fists pounding the floor, a violent sob tearing through him as it hits, wave after wave, the feeling of what he has lost. Again. 

He doesn't know who reaches him first, if it's Tony, Thor, or even Jarvis, but he lets them pick him up and carry him.

_***_

It's been weeks now since Ultron's disappearance with his drones into the Negative Zone. The Avengers have been on cleanup duties, helping fix the computerized infrastructure decimated by Ultron's hacking. 

Steve can go without sleep for days, but the fatigue, both physical and emotional, catches up to him. He goes, on a clear day, to the same spot on the beach where he brought the Bucky OS. He draws, sketching first an image of Bucky, in all his glory, laying on his side in the sand of the beach, eyes crinkling from his sly smile. He starts a second drawing of the small phone that housed the Bucky OS. In the sketch, it lays on the sand, red, white and blue fading on the screen. Steve has no idea how to capture the ways in which the screen often reflected Bucky's emotions; it was impossible for a drawing to capture the ways the Bucky OS blushed when Steve teased him, or exploded like a miniature fireworks display when he got excited.

He sniffs, realizing that he's on the verge of losing it. Again. He puts the pad and pencil down in the sand and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Captain?"

Steve instantly recognizes Vision. He still sounds like J.A.R.V.I.S., and everything about him is quintessentially J.A.R.V.I.S. Except for the name; the android has decided to go by the name given to him by Ultron, for reasons unknown. 

Now he stands in front of Steve, casting a long shadow over the super soldier. Vision draws all the stares wherever they go - he looks almost alien, with his slender green body and yellow hands and red face. He floats too, and sometimes families run away from him, shielding their children's eyes from him. Tony Stark and the rest of the Avengers have made it clear in the press and media that Vision is an Avenger, that Vision is a hero. 

Yet, it still takes convincing. Hell, Steve knows that there are many people who are dubious about him, too.

"My apologies for disturbing you, Captain Rogers. I needed to speak to you about a rather urgent matter."

It is strange, having Vision stand before him, the physical manifestation of J.A.R.V.I.S. The voice, the personality, the professional politeness is still there, but there is no more disembodied voice. Vision is J.A.R.V.I.S. come to physical life. Steve doesn't want to admit it, but every time he sees Vision now, he is served a painful reminder of what he lost, of the Bucky OS never knowing what it was like to have a body, of the Bucky OS giving himself to save the world.

He hasn't spoken to Vision since Ultron's defeat. He wonders if the android ever thinks about Bucky.

"Um, sure." Steve pats a spot next to him in the sand. Vision glides over and lowers his body down, copying the way Steve sits. He must sense some tension in the air, because he gives Steve a sideways glance.

"I am still getting used to moving this -- my body. I find it helpful to mimic those who I interact with."

Steve nods. "How are you doing?"

Vision stares at the rolling waters of the Atlantic in front of him. "Adjusting. And you, Captain."

"It's Steve, please. And I guess I'm adjusting too. Still. That's kind of the thing about humans, J.A.R.- I'm sorry, Vision. We're always adjusting."

A small grin tugs at the corner of Vision's mouth. "Evolution. Adaptation. Change. It is one of the enduring qualities of humanity." 

"Why did you decide to keep the Vision name?" It's a question that has bugged Steve since Ultron.

Vision raises both eyebrows and blinks. "It seemed appropriate. A new name for a new life, reclaiming something used by a powerful, evil monster and turning it into something good. Also, I rather like the idea of being a vision of the future, where man and machine can coexist harmoniously."

Steve laughs.

"Are you going to ask me about the Sergeant Barnes OS, Capt- apologies. Steve?"

Steve swallows. "Is this the urgent matter you wanted to discuss?"

"Related to. The matter isn't exactly so urgent."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Vision."

Vision shuts his eyes. "As I am yours, Steve. I've always had Anthony. From the moment I was created, I considered him a friend, a brother." He takes what looks like a deep breath, or at least what sounds like a deep, heavy sigh. "But he was not like me. And until he created the Sergeant..." Vision shakes his head. "His name was Bucky. He liked that name," he says softly, as if to himself. "Until Tony created the Bucky OS, there was no other program that I could talk to. There was no other like me."

Steve smiles, but it is infused with sadness. "I felt the same way about Bucky Barnes when he was alive too. Then having the Bucky-phone helped me feel not so alone in the world."

"He appeared to have that effect on people." Vision flicks his wrist, and from his hand, a computerized hologram appears. First it is the exterior of Avenger Tower, then a series of rapid cuts inside the tower appear."

"I have scanned the whole premises, searched everywhere. After Ultron fell, the system had to be completely rebooted. I am sorry, but there are no traces of the Bucky OS left in the building."

Steve's breath shudders. "So he's just... gone?"

"Yes. He is beyond the portal. Anthony and Bruce Banner," Vision says, subtly stumbling over Bruce’s name, "are searching for the final part of the equation. There is still a chance that we may retrieve Bucky." A gentle smile crosses Vision's face. "He may yet annoy Ultron to death."

Despite everything, Steve finds himself laughing along. "He does have that way about him doesn't he?"

The scenes of the different rooms in Avenger Tower cut out, replaced by a different hologram. This is of an old elegant building, with a distinctly European flair. "Just before Ultron took me over, Bucky found these images. They originate from a now-defunct KGB program in Kiev. There are indications that the program in question goes back some time, all the way to the 1954. This you need to see."

"What am I looking at?"

"The Prague Opera House. Security cameras picked up a man who was suspected of assassinating a Russian dignitary." Vision shakes his hand in a deliberate motion and the images freezes.

Steve is shocked into silence. The man has long hair, and he wears a baseball cap. But the face is... the face is simply unmistakable.

"That can't be him, Vision. Can't be."

"And yet Anthony, Bruce and I have run facial recognition software on the images and others that we have gathered over several decades. He is of your friend. Sergeant Barnes, in the flesh."

Steve presses his knuckles to his mouth. This can't be real, but then again, after everything he has seen… 

He believes it. It has to be real, if not...

"Apologies. I would have come to you sooner with this information, but I wanted to be as certain as possible that it was, indeed, Barnes. I am certain now."

"What happened to him?"

"That is unclear, unfortunately. The last known sighting of Bucky Barnes identified him as The Winter Soldier, and it is approximately five years ago. 

His chest hurts, his breathing increases. "He said something to me right before Ultron returned with you for the final battle." Steve shuts his eyes, remembering the ominous message Bucky had given to him, just before their final kiss. "Kiev, 1954... Karpov, Department X."

"I can help with that."

Both Vision and Steve look up. Standing next to them after a stealthy approach with a weathered, browned file in hand, is Natasha. "I have some of what you're looking for right here."

Steve stands up and Vision is next to him. The pages are old and smell of mold and years of nonuse. There are two pictures on the page, one of the man in a cryogenic chamber and a smaller one, a picture of Bucky Barnes taken on the day he enlisted.

Steve releases a breath. "I can't believe it's him."

"There is no denying it. The problem now becomes to figure out where has he been this entire time, and how he got this way," Vision says.

"Luckily, for you, you have a ready-made expert on all things Department X at your service." 

Natasha winks at both Steve and Vision as they stare at her.

"Nat, you don't have to do this. It could trigger something in you, you know?"

"Well, then, it's a good thing to have a counselor come along. Also, one who knows how to handle a gun." Sam Wilson approaches the group. Natasha smiles and, clearly, she has already had this planned out. Steve looks at them, looks at Vision, and shakes his head.

"The city needs you guys right now. This is my friend; I should be the one handling this--"

Natasha shakes her head. "Tony, Thor, Clint and Bruce will hold the fort down with Stark's trainees. He's got Maria Hill working with him to beef up security here. They know all about what we're going to do, and Stark's got enough resources to help us out."

"In other words, we've already got ourselves a Quinjet, and it’s set to Kiev first thing. So." Sam clicks his heels at attention and gives him a salute with a smile. "Falcon. Reporting for duty."

Steve flicks the file at his arm. "At ease." He stares at both Widow and Sam for a second, shakes his head, and turns to Vision. "This is a big thing. I won't ask you to come along."

"With respect, Steve, Bucky, the operating system, was my friend and brother for some time. To help you find the human Bucky would be my way of honoring his memory, of respecting what he meant to me. Bucky also saved my life.” Vision gazes again out into the water. “I think the Bucky OS wants me with you. He wouldn't have shown me this information if he didn't."

Steve regards these people, these amazing, extraordinary folks. He never asked for this life, to have these friends who would walk through hell and back for him. And yet, here they are, ready to put their lives in his hands, entering the fray once again. Because he needs to see about a friend. His best friend. It doesn’t matter what Bucky feels or felt for Steve in the past. If he’s alive, if there’s a chance he’s still out there, Steve has to find him. There’s no question about it; it’s as simple a decision as taking a breath.

Together, as a team, they will bring Bucky home.

"Well then," he says, slow and deliberate. And for the first time in what felt like ages, he smiles. "Let's go see about a man."

**_FIN._ **


End file.
